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Yes he did or does. His tax evasion conviction stemmed from him having his dealer rewards checks made out to him personally and not his business. Its a sad story. He was the youngest person ever awarded a franchise. I believe he was only in his early to mid 20's. Still you gotta wonder why Chrysler didn't deep six him. My opinion is that they have not terminated him because I don't believe they could find a dealer to fill the point.

Does anyone know for sure if the Barbera dealership has a real estate or capital loan with Chrysler Financial?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The StraightShooter

Yes he did or does. His tax evasion conviction stemmed from him having his dealer rewards checks made out to him personally and not his business.

With his tax evasion conviction it's clear Barbera had his floorline with Chrysler Financial but that doesn't necessarily mean he had a real estate or capital loan with CF.

That said, there had to be a reason GMAC didn't extend a floorline - either the store wasn't viable or their were loans in place that no longer had sufficient collateral.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The StraightShooter

Its a sad story. He was the youngest person ever awarded a franchise. I believe he was only in his early to mid 20's. Still you gotta wonder why Chrysler didn't deep six him. My opinion is that they have not terminated him because I don't believe they could find a dealer to fill the point.

I don't know - if the store hasn't had a floorline for the past year how much new car volume could they have been doing for Chrysler?

I do recall seeing an ad in the Classified Section of Automotive News a few weeks ago describing a store that sounded like Barbera's. As before, I don't know that market - I don't know if he has a desireable point or not.

Here's an interesting article the New York Times ran last December - the article includes a Q and A session with Gary Barbera - click here

I'm just guessing, but my bet is the Prosecuting Attorney in Barbera's case wasn't amused. Six weeks later and members of the State Police are hauling off documents - is it just a coincidence?

Final question - the article infers that Barbera's store is selling about 60% of the volume it did at its peak - did Barbera get a floorline? Is the link to his Chrysler website showing three vehicles in inventory incorrect?

Doesn't Chrysler's Dealer Agreement have a provision to address felons?

I guess I have one more question.

Doesn't Chrysler's Dealer Agreement have a provision which prevents individuals with a felony conviction from owning a dealership?

Here's an excerpt from the New York Times article - "Now 46, Mr. Barbera recently pleaded guilty to one felony count of filing false tax returns."

To be clear, I've never met Mr. Barbera and I don't have anything against him. It just seems odd that Chrysler allows his dealer code to remain active if it's correct his dealership doesn't have a flooring source and he's been convicted of a felony.